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Engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and the AMOLF institute in the Netherlands have invented the first mechanical metamaterials that easily transfer motion effortlessly in one direction while blocking it in the other, as described in a paper published on Feb. 13 in Nature. The material can be thought of as a mechanical one-way shield that blocks energy from coming in but easily transmits it going out the other side.

Join Prof. Andrea Alù as he shares insight into his work with metamaterials, light and an "invisibility cloak." 

Prof. Andrea Alù was selected to participate in the 2014 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Participation in the symposium is based on a rigorous application and selection process determined by the organizing committee. Each year, 100 engineers under the age of 45 meet for an intensive multi-day symposium to discuss cutting-edge developments in the areas of next generation robotics, materials for batteries, impacts of shale gas and oil on the economy, environment, energy sustainability and technologies for the heart.

Image: Erik Zumalt, The University of Texas at Austin Profs. Andrea Alù and Mikhail Belkin in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have created a new nonlinear metasurface, or meta mirror, that could one day enable the miniaturization of laser systems.